Print Advertisement Theory

Print advertisements follow a set of common rules for the way that they are pieced together. The position of the main elements are typically done so under the guidance of key rules based upon how we, as humans, read media in our culture and the psychology behind how our brains respond to it.

The first rule is the Rule of Thirds.
This is essentially a way of laying out the page. It is divided into three sections, either horizontally, vertically or both creating a nine-by-nine grid.

The main elements of the page are separated into these blocks. If something has significant importance then they can be placed on the dividing line itself. You can see this in the following example where the above grid is overlayed on an existing advertisement:

Another rule is the Gutenburg Rule.
This splits a page up not into 3 or 9, but into 4 quadrants. It follows something called "reading gravity" which in our culture is Top Left -> Bottom Right, in other cultures they read in an entirely different way and thus advertisements between parts of the world may be structured different.

The four areas are, in order, Primary Optical -> Strong Fallow Area -> Weak Fallow Area - > Terminal Area.

Using this structure dictates that anything on the top right of the page will be seen first, and in the bottom left will be seen last. From this standpoint designers can set out a page to influence the aspects of a page they wish us to leave the page thinking about, and how to embed it in our memory. Typically the logo is placed in the top right as this is the brand the consumer will respond to.

The above advert puts the most important information where your eyes first look, and in the area where your eyes is simply the text "keep it safe", leaving readers with that as the last message.

Maslow's Human Needs

Maslow's Pyramid of Human Needs is a hierarchy for displaying the needs of humans. They begin with the basics needed for survival, without any emotional development. This is the Physiological segment. As each level progresses it is less about just surviving, and more about comfort and development. Safety, Love and Belonging and Esteem are all based upon enabling the person to be fulfilled in life and to be happy. The top most segment, Self-Actualisation is about intellectual development - creativity, problem solving and lack of prejudice.

For a person to look at the higher segments, they must have fulfiled some, if not all, of the needs in the lower levels. This is a logical way of looking at it - after all you're not likely to want sexual intimacy if you haven't had a meal for a week.

For my strategy for the products and in the advertising I am going to assume, with my audience being that of one higher on the socio-economic hierarchy, that the Physiological (food, water, breathing etc), Safety, Love / belonging and Esteem are already at least partly existing within the individual.

Because of this I am going to appeal to the Self-Actualisation part of the pyramid. Creativity and spontaneity. Creativity is an area I'd like to focus on most, since my target audience will be the generation who have access to new tools and the time to learn them. Artistic students and those who work in creative industries are the prime targets and I must aim my advertising and themes around them.

Regulatory Bodies

The two regulatory bodies my products will come under are OFCOM and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The former as my Idents will be on national television, and the latter because I will be advertising my channel to the public.

OFCOM
The Office of Communications, OFCOM for short, is the regulatory body for the Electromagnetic Spectrum in the UK. This means they have a statutory duty to protect the citizens of the UK from offensive or harmful material, and to license the airwaves in this country. Complaints about broadcasters are registered with them as they are independant from the main broadcasting corporations and the Government.

OFCOM does not follow up complaints about broadcasts that are not licensed by it, even if they broadcast to UK audiences. Valid complaints are scrutinised to ensure the broadcaster has not breached the broadcasting code with its programme. The broadcaster will also be asked for a response to the complaint.



As well as the duty of regulation material and handling complaints, the organisation is also set up to conduct research and promote competition in the markets it oversees. Typically using a consultation system whereby they publish a freely available document and use responses sent in to form conclusions on an issue.

Advertising Standards Authority
Unlike OFCOM, this organisation is not part of the stature and thus cannot enforce legislation. It's principles broadly reflect legislature on advertising however. These are written on the ASA website:

The Advertising Codes contain wide-ranging rules designed to ensure that advertising does not mislead, harm or offend. Ads must also be socially responsible and prepared in line with the principles of fair competition. These broad principles apply regardless of the product being advertised.

In addition, the Codes contain specific rules for certain products and marketing techniques. These include rules for alcoholic drinks, health and beauty claims, children, medicines, financial products, environmental claims, gambling, direct marketing and prize promotions. These rules add an extra layer of consumer protection on top of consumer protection law and aim to ensure that UK advertising is responsible.

If an advertisement is found to be in breach of these, the following sanctions can take place:

• Bad Publicity: The ASA publishes rulings on its website
• CAP Compliance Team: The ASA can refer the complaints to this organisation who enforce the ASA and CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) who will ask the media publisher to remove the offending material
• Copy Advice: The publishers can be asked not to publish their advertisements unless first vetted by CAP.
• OFCOM: Adverts televised on licensed networks can be forwarded to OFCOM to investigate and punish as appropriate.

In order for my media products to be valid, they must adhere to the regulations of the medium that they are. My Idents must not be offensive or harmful to the public and breach broadcasting code, and my print advertisment must not breach the standards of the ASA.

Audience

The way my media products will be interpreted and viewed depend entirely upon the particular area of the market I aim it. Not only this, but within this market share there are different types of engaging with media ranging from passively consuming to making up your own meanings.

In order to categorise swathes of people there are several methods at my disposal. First is the National Readership Survey (NRS). Which divides the market into 6 categories based upon income.

Grade A: upper middle class

Higher managerial, administrative or professional

Grade B: middle class

Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional

Grade C1: lower middle class

Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional

Grade C2: skilled working class

Skilled manual workers

Grade D: working class

Semi and unskilled manual workers

Grade E: Those at the lowest levels of subsistence

Casual or lowest grade workers, pensioners and others who depend on the welfare state for their income

In addition to this, there is the National Statistic of Socio-economic Classification. (NS-SEC). The difference with this is that it doesn't classify people based upon skill, it only takes into account employment. The categories can number up to 18, however for analytical use it is broken down into only 8:

1. Higher managerial and professional occupations
2. Lower managerial and professional occupations
3. Intermediate occupations (clerical, sales, service)
4. Small employers and own account workers
5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations
6. Semi-routine occupations
7. Routine occupations
8. Never worked and long-term unemployed

Finally a system that takes into account only household earning, is the ACORN system.

Band A: Wealthy Achievers

Large amounts of disposable income and typically in high-end administration, managerial or professional jobs. These are the people who tend to like luxury goods and important brands. Aproximate income of £50,000 or over.

Band B: Urban Prosperity

lots of disposable income but the jobs change from high level to a more intermediate level. Aproximate income of between £35,000 and £50,000

Band C1: Comfortably Off

Disposable incoming is significantly less than the above, although life would still be comfortable. Income roughly between £25,000 and £35,000.

Band C2: Moderate Means

Manual labourers such as tradesmen who do not generate a massive income and will not be able to afford luxuries on a regular basis. Most likely to have a young family and roughly earns around £15,000 to £25,000 a year.

Band D: Hard Pressed

Very low income and not likely to be able to afford luxuries like going to the cinema regularly and may not have the opportunities to buy DVD's.

As well as classifying audiences in this way, it's important to take into account how the audience will engage with the media, as I eluded to above. There are several models used for this.

The Hypodermic Needle Model

This is what the majority of audiences are. Essentially passive, they take in the media presented as it is forming no conclusions of their own, much like a Baudrillard theory that we accept the micronarratives given to us. Media aimed at this audience is typically formulaic and predictable.

Two-Step-Flow
Media is passed on my people of influence. For example, your friend with a taste in movies will reccomend one to you and as a group you will all go out and view it. This system relies entirely on working out the tastes of the opinion leaders and aiming at them, and hoping that it is propegated out via them. Thus, two step flow.

Uses & Gratifications
This suggests people will view media for specific purposes. To get what they want from it, for example the adrenaline rush that comes from a horror flick, or the emotional responses to a romantic comedy. Quite often influenced by external factors that change their mood, the availability of wealth and the career they are in play a factor in what gratitfication they will seek from a media text. Someone who has low income is unlikely to want to see a film about the rich getting richer, as opposed to an aspirational film.

Obstinate Audience Theory
This suggests that people will only interpret what they want from a media text rather than being told. Media targetted at this audience will need to have sufficient depth to enable the audience to pick it apart, a formulaic system will leave this portion of the audience unfulfilled and possibly bored.

My Target Audience
Having researched this, I think I am able to classify my audience for my media products. I am going to be aiming them at Grade B-C1 markets based upon skills, these will be the typical users of technology and gadgetry as a commodity value rather than purely a tool. It's also highly likely that if they have children they will be older, as to rise to such a skill level over a period of time, and thus they will be more likely to have such devices and interests. Using the ACORN system, this would be classified as Bands A, B and C1 as they have the disposable income neccassary to purchase such devices. The skills and education neccassary to be in an occupation with such disposable income also suggests being educated, and the factual nature of the channel will appeal to them.